Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Slaughtered: The unwanted young bull was led to a trailer strewn with other animal carcasses and shot

This is the horrifying moment a 'useless' calf was taken from its mother and shot in the head at a dairy farm in Bristol.

The shocking images were discovered by vegetarian campaigning group Viva! who in a three month undercover investigation infiltrated dairy farms who supply chocolate giants Cadbury.

In the secretly filmed footage unwanted baby male calves are shown being torn from their mothers, herded into trailers and callously shot.

Merciless: The calf is killed for being 'useless' to the dairy industry

This is because they are branded a useless by-product by the industry as they can’t give birth and produce milk.

Usually the male calves cannot be sold on for meat as they are do not have enough muscle or fat.

Instead they are sold for pet food or die at birth or shot at birth, like this calf was at Harwood Gate Farm near Bristol, Viva! told The Sun.

The group acted after figures from DairyCo gained through a freedom of information request by Viva! show an estimated 100,000 bull calves are ‘disposed of on farm/died shortly after birth’.

They went undercover in 15 farms when they discovered the 'bloody secrets' but stressed that they had uncovered nothing illegal.

Churning out milk: The bull calves are taken from their mother as they are 'surplus' to the farm

Useless: Viva! says male calves are typically shot at birth or sold for pet food by the dairy industry

Campaigner, Kat Affleck, who organised the investigation, said: 'Our investigation has exposed for the first time the life of a Cadbury dairy cow: the trauma of birth, over producing and pendulous udders and the loneliness and confusion of separated calves calling for mothers they will never see again.

'This is not just Cadbury – but the dairy industry in general. I strongly urge anyone wanting to eat compassionately to watch the footage and see the reality of dairy production in the UK.

'And sadly virtually all milk, in any dairy product, has similar provenance.

'The fate of the Cadbury calves is replicated across the entire industry.

'The cruelty is inherent to the industry.'

U.S. food giant Kraft,which owns Cadbury, told The Sun: 'Consumers can be reassured we take animal welfare standards seriously.

'Creating a market for bull calves is a challenge for the dairy industry. We have been working with our suppliers to encourage humane solutions.'

A Cadbury spokesman said calves were normally sent to a dealer. But the one which was filmed had a deformed leg so it was disposed of 'humanely'.

Undercover: The group secretly filmed dairy farms to reveal what happened to bull calves